Ruined Puzzle Pieces
by singingzombies
Summary: On a camping trip, Sam and Freddie get separated from Carly and Spencer. Nothing like a life or death situation to reevaluate your friendship. EPILOGUE UP AND ITS ALL OVER FOLKS! SEDDIE
1. Chapter 1: Freddie Desires Maturity

**Summary: **During summer vacation, Sam and Freddie managed to get themselves separated from Carly and Spencer, nothing like a life or death situations to reevaluate your relationship!

**A/N: **My first fanfic, feel free to flame, but happy comments are even more appreciated. As a fan of Seddie, and feeling a little disappointed with the show's slight push towards Creddie, I really wanted to attempt to build a Sam and Freddie relationship while keeping them in character. (still a lot of episodes though and fortunately Sam is still hilarious)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own iCarly, if I did, I'd jump the shark and add too many Seddie moments

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 1**

_There comes a time when a boy becomes a man, a time when said boy looks at himself and his future and decides what values he wants to believe in, what adventures he wants to partake in, what dreams he wants to chase…_

_Admittedly, most of the time such changes doesn't occur at the age of 14, but I figured if someone wanted it enough, he could will it to happen. I'll admit, I just barely started growing, and I don't really understand girls (at all if I really think about it…) and I'd rather run from a challenge then face it head on, but this summer will be different! This summer I'll…_

"Owww! Sam!!!" Freddie whined as he rubbed his head where an object that looked suspiciously like his high-tech sound effects remote (a remote he had spent hours building and testing…) had just impacted him with unnatural strength.

"Freddie! Turn… camera… off… iCarly show… over…" Sam enunciated like a kindergarten teacher to her least promising student. Freddie made a quick face in retaliation, but he was quickly cutting the signal to iCarly's last show before summer vacation. Typical that Sam would make Freddie's last impression to their fans of one of useless baggage that can't even do his own job right… sigh.

"Sam, give Freddie a break. He was holding that camera for over 45 minutes for our School's Over Special webcast of iCarly. It's okay if he spaced out for a minute." Carly performed her typical mediation of the everlasting conflict that was Freddie and Sam.

"Besides, it's finally vacation! And Spencer's friend Socko has reserved us some cabins at Sea & Trees National Park! I can't wait for our first camping trip!" Carly said excitedly, thinking of the coasts of Washington where they would get to hang out at the beach, and well as hike on the nearby mountains and forests.

"Oh, that cleverly named park that has both… sea AND trees…" Sam mocked, "I quivering with excitement now… That reminds me, I've gotta go get some entertainment to last me the trip."

"Wait, Sam before you go, did you get your mom's permission to go camping with us?" Carly questioned.

"No, I just said I'd be out hanging out with you and Freddie and be back pretty late," Sam shrugged, "I'm sure the luggage bags will give her a good sense of how late." Carly gave a slightly uncomfortable look before turning toward Freddie.

"Did your mom let you? I know she hasn't been found of vacations since our trip to Japan."

"Yup, and even better, she's not coming with us" Freddie nodded with pride. It had taken hours of arguing, the threat of an ear piercing, and a comment about the impossibility of "alone time" with Carly if she came along to convince his mom. Considering that in her mind, Carly was Freddie's only hope against a life of perpetual loneliness, it was a well-placed comment that finally tipped the scales in his favor.

_More importantly, I could never follow my journey towards maturity with my mother at the hip… This camping trip may be my only chance to really challenge myself and prove my worth and competence to Carly! No offense Spencer… but I think I'll be needed…_

"Great, well I'll see you guys later. I've got to go shopping with Spencer for food for our trip. I have a feeling that if Spencer goes on his own, he'll just buy a whole bunch of microwavable foods with the words like "Easy to Prepare!" Oh, and don't forget to pack." Carly left leaving only Sam and Freddie in the room.

"So Sam, what "entertainment" are you bringing?" Freddie asked with great fears of all the potential camping pranks at Sam's disposal with the proper equipment.

Seeing Freddie's nervous expression Sam just smiled. "Don't worry Freddie. I'm on vacation and I plan to have plenty of fun" Sam quipped with no actual answer to Freddie's question. Freddie watched Sam walk into the iCarly set's elevator with a strut Darth Vader would have been proud of.

_My journey towards manhood may be more difficult than I thought…_

**A/N:** Sorry for the lack of Seddie moments. I feel like Freddie and Sam are the kind of couple that would take quite a bit of development and a slight whack of sense into their heads for them to get together. In case you haven't noticed, I plan to write this story from Freddie's POV. I'll probably add Sam later, but I feel like Sam is a far more developed character on the show than Freddie and Freddie needs more time to really flesh out a personality that can go head-to-head with Sam. I've always felt that Sam (especially during the beginning of the series) didn't fully respect Freddie cuz he was kind of a wimp.

Please read and review! Constructive criticism helps and so does support of any kind. Its always easier to write when you feel that people are going to enjoy reading it.


	2. Chapter 2: Bloody Noses

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 2**

_Later that evening at the bookstore Edges._

"Gibby, relax… _The Nickel Fortune_ releases at midnight regardless of how badly you want it." Freddie was currently waiting in line with Gibby and Jeremy (Germy for those fond of his nickname) for the premiere of the eagerly awaited sequel to _The Penny Treasure. _It was one of those books that Freddie felt nearly obligated to get on opening night if only to avoid people spoiling the story for him by the time he returned from vacation.

"We still have 10 more minutes of waiting, and you look like about to start dancing… Please don't by the way." Freddie had been standing in line with his friends for the last 4 hours, most of it spent with a constant fear of waiting the rest of the night with a shirtless Gibby and catching something nasty from Jeremy's constant sneezing at close proximity (though it caused the crowd to give them a nice comfortable bubble of distance)

_I probably would have been better off with just hours of simple boredom…_

"I know Freddie! It's just that, first pennies, now nickels, what will they think of next?!" Gibby began jumping up and down to get a better look at the front of the line (which was so hopelessly far away, I don't know why he even tries)

"I don't know Gibby… maybe dimes?" Freddie humored. With people like Gibby in his school, it was a wonder how Sam managed to fail so many classes in comparison.

"AH-CHOO!!! That would be awesome!" Jeremy added. Freddie felt something wet and a little slimy on the back of his neck.

_I give up… Please end my existence now…_

*SMACK!* (A/N: That would be the sound of Freddie's face hitting the cement…)

"MOVE!!! OUT OF MY WAY, DORK-FACE!!! YOU THINK I WON'T GRANNY!!!" Freddie looked up slowly, his nose slowing bleeding out of one nostril as he watched a small figure in a hoodie and jeans that didn't cover the ankles (girl for sure…) weed-wack her way towards the front of the line.

"Who wears a hoodie in the middle of summer?" Gibby asked. He was helping Jeremy up to his feet as everyone else was recovering from what looked like a human hurricane.

"AH-CHOO!!! Freddie, your nose is bleeding… AH-CHOO!!! I have tissues… AH-CHOO!!! They're the reusable kind… AH-CHOO!!!" Jeremy pulled some slightly discolored tissues from his pocket and offered them to Freddie.

"Ummm… Oh look, I hear my mom calling. Bye" Freddie quickly the followed the cries of falling people until he had reached the checkout counter of the Edges bookstore. Suspicions confirmed, he found Sam wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and pretorn jeans leaning against the counter staring at the nervous employees who had probably done nothing to deserve this.

"Sam! You can't just cut in line in front of people who have waited for hours!" Freddie hissed. Sam turned around slowly and put a hand on his collar.

"I'm sorry Freddie, What is it exactly that I CAN'T DO…" Sam was using her threatening voice. (Or was her normal voice, it's hard to tell, when it's used so frequently)

"Nothing… Lovely night… Moonlight makes those sunglasses look lovely." Freddie wiped his nose just in case it was still bleeding, still confused over Sam's attire but no longer quite brave enough to ask about it."

"Besides its not Sam tonight… Call me… Jennette." Sam looked around to check for any unwanted listeners.

"I'm sorry… Why?" Freddie reminded himself to write a will sometime soon. Being friends with Sam was a constant safety hazard with bonus amounts of craziness.

"I'm in disguise." Sam (err Jennette, err nevermind) responded as if that was all the explanation that was needed.

"Again… Why?"

"It has come to my recent attention that only geeks and dorks read this series and I didn't want my reputation to get soiled." Sam answered. The employees behind the counter were whispering to each other, probably about what to do with Sam. They all sighed simultaneously all of a sudden, and Freddie knew that they had probably surrendered to ignore Sam's blatant disregard for any store regulations and just sell her _the Nickel Fortune, _if only to be rid of her as soon as possible. Freddie was very familiar with that sigh.

"And yet here you are Sam…" Freddie quipped softly, almost to himself feeling a little braver after seeing all the people cower in Sam's presence. It's always good to know you're not the only one.

"Ummm reservation for _the Nickel Fortune?_" the checkout clerk asked Sam without looking into her eyes.

"Yes, under Jennette McCurdy" Sam pulled out a wallet that looked very similar to his own…

_Wait a minute! Don't tell me that when she grabbed me, she took…_

"Yes, that will be $20." Sam quickly handed over a twenty, took her book and threw Freddie's wallet back into his hands.

"Wait, Sam, that's all the money I have on me." Freddie added in futility as Sam was already walking away reading the first page. After a few steps, she stopped as if hesitating before turning around.

"Don't worry Benson, we're friends right? I'll let you read it after I'm done, and I promise this time there won't be any grease stains on the pages." Sam smiled and softly patted Freddie on the shoulder. "Now I've got something to read on the trip, and I'm going to go finish packing." Freddie watched incredulously as Sam walked away humming to herself.

"I need to start chaining my wallet to my pants." Freddie said to himself as he could only watch in wonder at the girl who had just plowed through hundreds of people, purchased the most desired book in the entire world at the moment for free and with no waiting, and walked herself calmly to her home humming as it was just a normal day.

"Excuse me, Sir. Your nose is bleeding…"

A/N: If you've ever wondered how Freddie manages to stay friends with Sam despite her "aggressiveness", I ask only to look at Freddie's alternatives lol. I really enjoyed adding Gibby and Jeremy to this scene even though it was only after I realized that Freddie has no male friends his age that he spends regular amounts of time with. Fellow fans of anime will hopefully laugh with me on my nosebleed joke, and I apologize if the story seems to be moving slowly (it is). I promise to make up for it with very frequent updates. Maybe twice or three times a week. Next is the car ride! Carly is shotgun which leaves Freddie and Sam in the backseat lol.


	3. Chapter 3: Puzzling Naps

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 3:**

_11:00 AM in Spencer's Car:_

Freddie took a moment to reflect on his current circumstances. He had been in Spencer's car for the last 5 hours and had already exhausted all his planned means to amuse himself, a manual and tutorial for some videogame programming software he recently downloaded, preparing the next updates to the iCarly website on his laptop, and his secretly purchased book _Comedy and Jokes For Nitwits. _Freddie assumed that Carly and Sam would be able to chat with him for the rest of the trip, but Carly was currently listening to her PearPod and Sam was well… asleep.

_Which I should have seen coming, especially since Sam probably stayed up reading the Nickel Fortune._

Which was perfectly fine with Freddie since Spencer was driving and Carly was in shotgun, leaving Sam and Freddie alone in the back. Freddie was actually surprised at how peaceful the trip was going so far. He quickly snuck a peak at Carly through the rearview mirror. She was listening to her music with her eyes closed, a huge smile that went ear to ear, relaxed against her seat with one arm elegantly resting on the arm rest and the other on the window ledge. Not to mention she was humming a sound that sounded as harmonious and perfect as the person it was coming from.

_Carly's so easy to admire. She's beautiful, nice, and really graceful._ _More importantly, she was one of the first people who made friends with me, and did it so easily. Me, a guy who knows machines and technology far better than I know people. All through my primary school years I never really found it easy to relate to people, which is what made Carly so much more amazing. _

_Nothing about a person ever really bothered Carly. She was always friendly and approachable, not to mention she has over 300,000 fans who adore her. She even made friends with Sam for Pete's sake! To put it simply, it was really hard NOT to like Carly as a person. It helped that she always seemed to know how to naturally present herself so you could admire her beauty as well. She dressed really well, took really good care of herself and her appearance and most of the time moved with a subtle grace._

Freddie took a look over at Sam in comparison and snickered to himself. Sam was leaning against the backseat in between the middle and door with her limbs spread out like a ragdoll taking up two-thirds of the room. To top things off, she had her head rolled back over the top of the seat facing the roof with her mouth wide-open and snoring very softly. Freddie shook his head and opened up _Comedy and Jokes For Nitwits_ again, and then looked again at Sam.

_It's not cuz she's nice to look at… It's just cuz I never really see Sam being still. She is Carly's opposite in so many ways. Sam is rough and physical, doesn't really relate to people well, never cares for other people's opinions and presents herself anyway she wants. It's like Sam is always indestructible and immutable. You can't change her or her opinion even if you want to. Even more noticeable now is that Sam seems to ALWAYS be in motion, well… when she's awake that is. It's like Sam has two modes: SLEEP and OVERACTIVE. It's probably a testament to Sam's constant activity that she eats so much and never gains weight, and I… never seem to get a good look at her._

Freddie looked extra hard and with greater attention… for pure scientific observation, of course. He noticed that Sam had amazing clear skin, dark perfectly trimmed eyebrows that contrasted well with her curly blond hair.

_Huh, it's strange that Sam never really cares about how she acts, yet seems to put such great attention to her appearance. It's probably just a girl thing… but… I've read that when a girl likes someone she… Wait, Sam is crushing on someone? That's silly… she would have told Carly and Carly would have told me or I would have noticed it myself by now…_

Freddie looked closer at Sam's button of a nose and her petite lips and…

_Whoa… okay, this is not a safe place to take your thoughts. Sam is a friend and I shouldn't really be looking at her lips. That's right Sam and I are just… friends? …Rivals? …Enemies? …Frenemies? It's hard to classify… we tolerate each other at least… No, maybe it was like that at first, but now… it's like we've adapted to each other… barely._

Freddie took another look at Carly and reassured himself of his thoughts.

_Carly and I are like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. The picture clue may be hard to understand and Carly hasn't really thought of putting our pieces together but I'm sure they fit… Heh, I like that analogy. And Carly and Sam are like two puzzle pieces that has picture clues that don't match at all, but fit perfectly together out of sheer chance and coincidence. As for Sam and me… well, it's like we don't fit and our picture clues have nothing to do with each other and we only are close, because we're both close to Carly._

Pleased with his analogy and thoughts Freddie turned back to his book while listening to Carly's soothing humming. He was just flipping a page when he felt something soft on his shoulder. Apparently Sam's sleeping figure had picked that moment to slide her head onto a new pillow. Freddie had a flurry of emotions, the largest one of them terror, and looked over at Carly and Spencer. Carly still had her eyes closed and her humming was getting softer and softer as she approached the land of Z's. Spencer was still focused on the road driving at an impossibly slow speed that Freddie's mom would have been impatient with. (Admittedly Spencer seems to know when he needs to be responsible…)

Freddie quickly thought about his options, and realized that waking Sam up, especially with her discovering where she had been resting was probably not in his best interests. So Freddie decided that if waking Sam was a bad idea and Carly and Spencer being none the wiser, might as well let her keep snoozing on his shoulder… it would be in his best interest after all.

A/N: Sorry for lack of updates. College exams have a nasty way of all ending up on the same bloody day as if it were a professors' inside joke, and I barely have enough time to watch TV let alone write. Though with the newest iCarly episode looking like it won't be here till mid-December I once again found some free time. This is good since maybe I'll be able to do longer chapters in the future. I'm not really fully happen with the 2-page chapters yet. Well, you see that Freddie seems to be slowly looking at Sam in a new light. Future things to come: Sam's POV (that will be fun ;D ), Carly sees the changes in Freddie and reacts maybe a little surprisingly. Future Sam and Carly interactions too (both good and bad ;D ) since they are a big part of the trio and I've been kind of ignoring them.

A/N/N: Please Review... as an author I kind of live off of them


	4. Chapter 4: I'm Not Hungry

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 4:**

_2:00 PM at_ _Sea & Trees National Park's beach hotel:_

Sam was only slightly distressed at waking up past noon. She normally hated missing both breakfast and lunch but today she felt unusually well-rested and was admittedly a bit proud of herself for finishing _The Nickel Fortune_ in one-sitting the previous night.

_Course, now I don't have anything to do, and Carly probably went ahead to the beach with Spencer without me… Though she did seem a bit more excited about this trip than I was._

Sam knew she wasn't being fair. Her dad once took Sam and her mom on a camping trip when she was little and it had been one of Sam's best family memories. Being here now with Carly and Freddie brought back an uncomfortable reminiscence but Sam was too good a friend to let her unwarranted qualms about camping ruin the trip.

Sam walked past Spencer and Freddie's room which was right across from Carly and Sam's, and heard Freddie on the phone.

_That's weird… Figured dorkface would've been right on the heels of Carly in a swimsuit._

Crushing the tiniest of scruples (Despite what she prolifically says, Sam still felt them to an extent), Sam listened at the door.

"Yes mom, I'm wearing my anti-bacterial swim-trucks. *sigh* Yes, there are certified life-guards here… I haven't eaten in the last hour… No, mom I refuse to wear inflatable wings on my arms when I know how to swim…"

Sam moved on, feeling a little annoyed. She never took well to Mrs. Benson's incessant and overprotective parental nagging that carried on to an obsessive fault.

_Crazy woman calls Fredward more in a day than my mom calls in a year._

Sam walked down the stairs, recalling in the brochure that there was some sort of all-day buffet for guests at the hotel and Sam had learned that if there was one thing that never seemed to disappoint you in life, it was food. Food was simple, tasty, and produced instant happiness on command.

_30 minutes later…_

"Wow… I have no idea who came up with the crazy idea of combining French Fries and Chocolate Milkshakes, but they were a genius." Sam said quietly to herself and dipped another French fry into her malt of chocolate. It was one those weird food combos that looked like it would taste disgusting together, but proved otherwise… like Peanut Butter and Jelly. Sam personally thought that the fact of the combination of sweet and salty being so unique actually added to the taste.

Sam was finishing the last of her shake (getting a little bit of malt on her nose) when a guy who probably should be more appropriately called Handsome Incarnate walked over and sat down next to her. Sam knew there were more attractive ways to break the ice aside from choking on a milkshake, but Lady Luck never seems to agree with you when you really need her. A hacking cough and forced swallow of water later, Sam quickly evaluated her gorgeous guest: lovely tanned skin, midnight black hair, looked like either a junior or senior in high school, and had a very pleasing smell of aftershave.

"Hey, Ummm… Aren't you Sam from iCarly?"

_OmigodThisissoawesomeHeissocuteandItotallyhavemilkshakeallovermyfacerightnowdon'tI?_

Sam wiped her face quickly with her sleeve before answering.

"Yeah, you like the show?"

"Yeah! It's totally fresh and awesome. You and Carly are hilarious." Handsome Incarnate than paused and looked off at some point on the ceiling, "Ummm by the way, is Carly here too?"

…_Say what? Oh, you have got to be kidding me…_

"Say, can you level with me and introduce me to her because I have this huge crush…"

Sam was angry… really angry. She could tell because instead of slamming the mashed potatoes, (which had tasted really stale) at her offender's face, she had chosen the only piece of meat deluxe pizza she had on her tray. There are some foods that never should be thrown no matter how dire the situation, and meat deluxe pizza was definitely one of them.

_Dude didn't even offer his name to me… I really should've known._

As the unnamed guy was about to get up and walk away with what little dignity he had left, Sam felt a twinge of regret and started to retrieve her pizza. (It was too good to go to waste on him.)

"You don't want to do that," said Freddie as he sat down next to her with his own tray of food. Freddie took a meat deluxe pizza slice from his own tray and put it onto Sam's. "You don't know where his face has been." Freddie nodded his head towards a group of ditzy girls across the cafeteria. They were currently swarming all over Mr. Pizzaface and were trying to help clean him of the offending tomato sauce and cheese with napkins without dirtying themselves. If Sam wasn't so annoyed, she probably would have gotten a good laugh out of the situation.

Sam turned and prepared a glare for Freddie, one with the message "Did you see everything?" encoded into the look, but he wasn't paying attention to her and was nonchalantly chewing on his food. He probably expected the look and rather than answer a question with an obvious answer, Freddie knew sometimes it was better to avoid an argument with Sam all together. They had gotten used to each other over their years of friendship, and normally Sam would have gladly let the situation slide clean, but right now she was hurt, distressed, and yes wanted to take out her anger on something.

"Did baby Freddie finally convince his mummy that it was okay to come out and pway? Sam asked in a mocking toddler voice. Sam resorted to her reflexive need to insult whenever she was uncomfortable and distressed. She never seemed to do well around Freddie. The guy revolved himself around things she didn't understand, took pleasure in things that made no sense to her, and his ridiculous idolization of Carly always put Sam on edge. This situation like a lot of others was no different.

"No, but I don't plan to listen to her." Freddie's terse and straight-forward reply admittedly caught Sam off-guard and she didn't she follow up on his statement. Freddie put his small portable 12" laptop on the table and booted it on. Sam noted that for a guy that looked like he was about to do computer work, he looked more like he was dressed for an outing on the beach.

"Benson, you okay? I thought you'd be out with Carly on the beach."

"I was, and then I saw her entourage of male fans." Freddie was looking at his computer screen, but didn't really seem to be paying any attention to it. "I could ask you the same question by the way."

"Free food," replied Sam nonchalantly, "And I'm still confused. Shouldn't you be out there beating the men off of her with a stick or something."

Freddie chuckled before replying, "You and I both know how Carly would react to that. Besides, I am not clueless. I know when I am outclassed, so I figured that instead of wasting my vacation getting distressed over a situation I have no control over. I plan to do something both relaxing and productive." Sam could see Freddie bring up a video screen on his laptop. Sam couldn't contain her curiosity and feign indifference.

"What are you working on? Something new for iCarly?" Freddie smiled. Sam didn't quite know if she should be annoyed that Freddie was in a good mood, or that Freddie just seemed annoying because she was in a bad mood. Regardless, Freddie's current sunny disposition was a little contagious and Sam found herself relaxing, all thoughts of stupid Pizzahead fading to nothingness.

"Nah, this is a videogame I'm making for fun." Freddie started typing some gibberish in another language on the screen, and seemed to be enjoying himself. Sam suddenly felt a twinge of jealously, as she remembered all the hobbies and activities that Freddie did voluntarily and seemed to have fun in. Sam only had iCarly and if it wasn't for her awesome friend, Carly, she… Well Sam would have a lot less. Even with iCarly, Sam had always felt lost in the world, never sure what to do with her life, just taking in the small pleasures that conveniently came to her. Sam hated feeling inferior and Freddie had a way of making you seem insignificant and stupid.

"Ah, more geek stuff."

_More stuff that I don't understand and don't really care about, but I kinda wish I did. Freddie always has a way of hitting a nerve. Like two years ago when he commented offhand on my sloppy hair and horrible sweatpants, I couldn't let it go and went for a new look. Luckily, I found out that I like looking nice. Though Crazy Benson still always gets to me…_

"It's not that bad. I'm actually remaking a game I totally loved as a kid: Hungry Hungry Hippos." Freddie hit a few more buttons and maximized the video game screen, and turned the laptop towards Sam.

"No way! I totally loved that game!" Sam leaned in closer to the screen for a better look, and noticed four differently colored cartoony hippos occupy the video screen. It seemed Freddie was trying to implement a reimagining of the game as the hippos seemed to be able to move and aim their heads, and there seemed to be many different kinds of balls to eat. Had Sam been paying attention, she would have noticed the awkward and confused look on Freddie's face due to her proximity.

Freddie blinked rapidly a few times and managed to collect his thoughts, "Heh, for some reason, that doesn't seem surprising at all." Even though she didn't ask for permission, Sam was already pressing buttons all over his keyboard trying to illicit a response out of the hippos.

"So when do you think you'll be finished?" Sam found herself genuinely interested in Freddie's latest project. She supposed according to the law of averages Freddie would have to appear interesting at some point. She thought about voicing that last opinion, but then thought better of it.

"I don't know, maybe a week or two. I kind of want to get the game to use actual controllers." Sam then thought about saying that she wanted to playtest it with him, but then thought better of it. She never voluntarily spent her free time with Freddie, and there were reasons for that. It wasn't fear of boredom since Sam always found herself amused when she was with Freddie (mostly at Freddie's expense unfortunately.) It was… well there were reasons.

"Hey Sam… Do you want to playtest it with me when I'm done? I mean… if you miss the game as much as I do." Sam felt her heartbeat slightly increase, and her breath was involuntarily caught halfway in her throat. If Sam could classify the feeling, it would be nervousness which was new and rare to Sam since it never happened to her about anything before. She took a quick breath and smushed the feeling down.

"Uhhhh…" Sam quickly thought of possible responses: _Do I get paid?; You wish; Only a unintelligent monkey would want to play game made by you; I'm allergic to your face…_

"Sure… why not." Sam found herself saying before she could finish her thoughts. Sam put on her best nonchalant mask but inside her head was a different story.

_What the… I… Freddie… What was I thinking? Is this a good thing?_

"Great! Sam, this is going to be so awesome with Carly and Spencer. I totally can't wait. I mean Hungry Hungry Hippos is totally amazing with all four people playing." Freddie grabbed a sandwich from his tray, took a bite, and totally missed a surprised look on Sam's face.

_Oh… _

_Yeah… Huh, I need… some air… and time to think._

"Ummm I am going to see Carly and what she's up to." Sam excused herself and walked towards the exit. Freddie looked over at Sam as she left and then back at her tray (which she didn't bother to put away.)

_Sam never leaves a meal unfinished. What's going on?_

A/N: Yay! Longer chapter! Roughly two times longer than the previous ones. I really hope people like this chapter. Writing Sam is harder than I thought. Her character on iCarly is by far the most eccentric and it becomes difficult to try to ground her behavior in reality with causes and reasons because (well, honestly sometimes she's just random) My interpretation of Sam is that Freddie really is like an alien to her. She doesn't understand a lot of things about him, and that is fundamentally the reason she is uncomfortable with him and Sam never likes to feel either inferior or uncomfortable with the situation so she attacks it. She seems to have a lot of vulnerable facets that she tries to hide with her attitude and comfort food. Even in light of all this, Sam seems to have an obsession towards Freddie which is why I love the pairing so much. She seems to the be the center of the conflict in the couple and she's seems too emotionally damaged to engage in a mature relationship with anyone and through Carly has been forced into a friendship with Freddie. Freddie though seems to have his own issues like gaining the confidence and strength to stand up for himself and grow into his own person. Both characters need time to develop and grow to make it work. It's not like the magical Disney pairings you see a lot in a lot of their movies. I know that a Seddie pairing on iCarly now would jump the shark on the show, but I would really love to see Dan Schneider and the writers slowly work their way towards a Seddie pairing with a possible get together in the final episode kind of thing. It's why I liked the Ron and Kim pairing on Kim Possible. Both characters had to grow into the relationship. It's more fun that way. Phew… long ramble.

A/N/N: Please read and review.


	5. Chapter 5: What's Shane Doing Here?

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 5:**

_Later at the beach:_

Sam walked on the beach barefoot, enjoying the tingling and squishy feeling occurring between her toes. It really made one feel like that man (and woman) was indeed born without shoes. She didn't know what had happened inside with Freddie. She felt… content, but not the same content that one felt after a well-enjoyed full-course meal. Well, actually it was similar to that feeling, but instead of feeling like hibernating right afterward, it felt like you could never fall asleep again. Restless and content at the same time, it seemed almost oxymoronic. Which was strange, Sam had discussed with Carly what qualities in a boy interested them, and Freddie to be simple possessed… none of them (the complete opposite of many of them to be totally truthful). Sam finally concluded that it had to be the trip, and Mr. Pizzaface, and the constant reminder of her family (or lack there of), and just everything put together till pretty much anything, even Freddie, seemed like a welcome change.

Sam kept walking with her thoughts till she saw… a sand… thingie. One couldn't really describe it in one word, but it had Spencer written all over it. Sam never knew one could do abstract art with sand, but then again Sam didn't know that a lot of things that Spencer did was possible. The creation was roughly six-feet high, and looked like a mix between a big sand castle, the Pillsbury dough boy, and a tree.

_Ack, never mind. I don't think anyone can describe abstract art, hence the adjective abstract._

"Hey Spencer, that's a wicked sand castle you got there." Sam had always liked Spencer. He never felt like an adult, but you felt comfortable and safe around him anyway. Well emotionally safe anyway, there have been a few instances that Sam had feared for her own safety. Anyway, Spencer was one of those people that seem to always genuinely care about you no matter the day, time, or situation, and that was an extremely rare quality that Sam had a hard time finding even in her own family.

"Just wait… watch this." Spencer put his hand on the back of the sculpture and all of a sudden a rainbow of lights flickered all over the creation of sand. Sam stared flabbergasted for a few seconds, before turning back to Spencer.

"How…"

"Mad Sculpting Skills. I think I can fairly state that I have the coolest sand castle on the entire beach." Spencer proclaimed proudly, and he was right. People all over the beach suddenly looked over at the ridiculous spectacle that was Spencer's creation.

"Have you seen Carly by any chance?" Sam was wondering why Carly wasn't present. Normally she loved Spencer's sculptures and would have been the first to see his finished creation.

"I'm here…" whispered a voice that sounded that suspiciously like Carly's… from Spencer's sand sculpture.

"Carly?" Sam walked over to the other side where she saw a hole slightly smaller than her head in the sand wall, and realized that the whole thing was hollow. Carly's face appeared briefly covered in little bits of sand.

"I'm hiding from my "adoring" fans." Carly checked suspiciously left and right and Sam looked around to see some groups of people holding paper and pens. Carly satisfied that she wouldn't be discovered looked back at Sam. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day."

"Oh you know, the usual… eating… sleeping… and more eating." Sam said the answer that was the most believable, and Carly didn't even think twice about it.

"By the way, have you seen Freddie? He was here just a while ago and then he just disappeared."

_Let me guess. Freddie upon arrival, blissfully unpacked his clothes in the hotel, changed into something that he mistakenly thought dashing, practiced a few jokes that have been overused on the internet, and gathered his courage for a day of potential flirting and gaining ground with Carly only to find out that by the time he was ready, 20 or so guys had beat him to it. I should really get a degree for an expertise on geeks. I wonder what the major is called in college?_

"Anyway, if you see him, tell him… Ah! I'm not here!" Carly quickly retreated out of view until Sam saw roughly 12 people walk by, stopped and stared at Spencer's ridiculous Christmas sandbox, and then moved on while Spencer merely beamed in pride off on the side. Once the coast was clear Carly reemerged.

"Tell him that we didn't drive four hours just to spend our vacation indoors on a laptop."

"Or in a sandcastle." Sam couldn't help herself, and Carly simply gave her a look.

"Fine…" Carly slowly sunk down out of visibility, and suddenly appeared out of hole behind Sam.

"Wow, Spencer's really outdone himself this time." As if on command, Spencer's sand… (thingamajig? wachamacallit? doohickey?) suddenly burst into flames…

"Sand doesn't even burn?!" Spencer cried before running to the ocean with the smallest plastic pail Sam had even seen. It was a pitiful sight and Sam looked around and quickly "borrowed" the two largest buckets she could find, threw one at Carly, and followed Spencer. Carly was right on her tail.

"I wonder if they teach you this in art school." Sam thought out loud.

"At the very least, I hope they cover fire safety tips." Carly commented, while double checking herself for any spontaneously combusting sand particles. Sam and Carly couldn't help it and started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation while helping Spencer. This was what Sam loved most about the Shays. It was utterly impossible to stay gloomy around them.

_Back at the hotel:_

While Sam, Carly, and Spencer were questioning the laws of combustion, Freddie was sitting back at his room double-checking all the supplies and equipment he brought on the trip. He had concluded today to be an official failure and decided to focus on the camping portion of the trip, hoping to first impress Carly with his capabilities and preparations, maybe make something out of the romantic campfires, and just show how responsible and reliable he could be.

Three suitcases and a first aid kit that weighed more than him sat on the floor as Freddie verified labels, quality and location of all the contents. At some point Freddie horribly realized that maybe he had more in common with his mother than he cared to admit, but he supposed that preparation for anything wasn't too bad of a trait. Freddie liked to manage things; it's what he did, and why he was perfectly fine being the tech producer on iCarly as opposed to a larger starring role. Freddie liked to observe, prepare, organize, and manage his life. (one of the many reasons his mother drove him crazy on more than one occasion)

He was just about done with suitcases one and two when he heard a knock on the door. Expecting it to be one of the girls, (Spencer had a key) Freddie opened the door without hesitation to find to his surprise, Shane, his A/V club friend.

"Hey, I saw Spencer on the beach earlier and he said you, Sam, and Carly were here. He said you were probably back at the hotel room and I wanted to say hi."

"Hey, I totally didn't expect anyone from school to be on vacation at this hotel" Freddie was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't seen Shane very much since his release from the hospital. Freddie suspected because the poor guy was afraid of Carly and Sam who had fought over him like two toddlers over a stuffed animal with horrific results. Even during A/V club, Shane hadn't said too many words to him, and Freddie had wondered if the girls had ruined his friendship with the guy.

"Yeah, I'm sorry that I haven't talked to you that much. No offence, but you remind me of Sam and Carly, and well… falling 9 stories and breaking 17 bones in your body, forcing 4 surgeries, and a month in a body cast kind of scars you. Anyway, you're one of the coolest guys I know, and none of it was your fault." Shane extended his hand, and Freddie (ignoring the fact of his assistance to Sam in the whole fiasco) gladly gave his own and shook on their friendship.

"So, what you've been up to?" Freddie literally leaped with happiness over to his laptop. It was fun being friends with Sam and Carly and Freddie couldn't really ask for more, (well except maybe from Sam…) but they didn't really understand all of his hobbies.

"I've been making a game inspired by Hungry Hungry Hippos with XNA Game Studio." Freddie quickly powered on his laptop and showed Shane his work. Shane looked through the computer code and seemed genuinely impressed.

"Yeah, XNA, I know that software. XNA stands for…"

"It's Not an Acronym!" chimed by Freddie and Shane and chuckled at the inside joke.

"Ah man, I'm so glad I can talk about this with you. Sam would totally laugh me out a window if she could see me now. She can't stand this kind of thing."

"No, Sam is cool with this kind of stuff."

_Wait… What?_

"Wait… What? You're kidding, right?" Freddie asked completely confused. The statement was completely ridiculous. It was like saying Freddie wasn't a guy. (Another statement Freddie was glad Sam wasn't here to comment on)

"I mean she doesn't understand all of it, but a lot of it still interests her." Shane spoke matter-of-factly and Freddie could see that Shane wasn't playing with him. He really believed what he was saying.

"Remember, I dated her for a while. I talked about this kind of stuff all the time, and she asked legitimate questions and it was really cool." Freddie had to process the previous sentence twice, no thrice before he actually heard it. It was like the world suddenly decided to redefine gravity to some number other than 9.8 meters per seconds squared. Sam hated geek stuff for all its worth. It was a fundamental law of the universe.

"Then why…" It made no sense… and yet… Shane made sense. It didn't compute…

"Oh, why she gives you such a hard time. I think that has to do with more with you and Sam than you being a geek." Shane gave a knowing look at Freddie, but Freddie was still staring down at the ground, shaking his head softly as a person does when he thinks too hard about something and it still didn't make sense.

"Wait… I'm sorry. I can't process this right now. I think I need to sit down…" Freddie sat on the bed, and no matter how he approached the problem, there was no logical solution. Maybe Sam just simply hated him… no that can't be. They had their moments, few but enough to a least rule out simple loathing… Freddie decided to just shelve the problem for later postulation. It was too much at the moment. Freddie was silent for a moment, and Shane was waiting patiently.

"Why did you date them both?" the question came out before Freddie thought about it clearly. He knew the moment his mouth opened how intrusive and probably rude the question sounded.

"I don't know… Carly was so friendly and approachable, and Sam was… like exciting and unpredictable. There never was a dull moment with her." Freddie slowly processed this information and he knew he had to ask…

"If I'm allowed to ask…" (Freddie chose politer words this time) "Which one were you going to choose." Shane looked over at the wall for a moment and Freddie wondered whether he was thinking about the answer or whether to answer his question at all.

"Probably Carly…" Freddie sighed in the positive assessment of his sanity. There was comfort in numbers, but he was so relieved he didn't hear the rest of Shane's answer.

"But that's really only because Sam was so high-maintenance. She was a handful, you know, never a dull moment, but I'm a guy who likes his peaceful moments."

_Oh… That sounds like a stupid reason… I mean, if one really likes a person, you're willing to do anything for them. There's no such thing as high-maintenance._

Freddie thought of the efforts he had put towards winning Carly over and agreed with himself.

"Anyway, do you have a playable alpha up yet? I brought my controllers and console with me on the trip. We could playtest it now."

"Sure…" Freddie reflexively answered, anything to keep his mind off this current train of thought. He didn't know what to make of Shane's new insight, and he was kind of afraid of the conclusion.

A/N: This has got to be my favorite chapter. It was fun to write, (Spencer is awesome), and I like the character of Shane in the whole Sam and Freddie drama. He was a geek that Sam was interested in, and that in itself just reveals some of her character (assuming she isn't just simply shallow…). Not to mention he dated both Sam and Carly and as such the perfect foil to Freddie's character in the story who also ultimately has to choose between the two.

A/N/N: Please read and review. I really like to read your responses. I am currently thinking of rewriting the first two chapters since I found them really weak, and now that I plan to do longer chapters I feel like they require upgrading.

P.S: Please read Nature9000's new satirical piece "Her Views." It's really insightful and a fun read, and Nature9000 has read ALOT of fics. Its seem every fic I read on fanfiction has a Nature9000 review that is encouraging and thoughtful. It's always nice to find nice people on the internet since well, it makes you really cynical most of the time. Plus, I like Carly as a character. She seals the trio of Sam and Freddie together. This story focuses on how she affects Sam and Freddie and well.. as such isn't present most of time...


	6. Chapter 6: All Gods Are Janks!

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 6:**

_Socko's campsite the following day:_

Socko's campsite wasn't what the iCarly gang expected. It consisted of two cabins, and had a stream that ran close by which came with a small wooden dock and a rowboat large enough to safely seat three people. The location was halfway up and alongside the mountain and as such you had a gorgeous view of the forest below. All in all, it was a pretty nice spot, which is odd if you considered the past experience of Socko's taste in quality from their last vacation to Japan. In fact, the only strange observation was that it didn't seem to be used too often. The grass had grown pretty high and thoroughly around the site showing no signs of occupation by past campers. The lack of popularity with the campsite was further enforced when Spencer and Carly looked inside the cabins to find… well nothing, not even cots. Freddie placed a hand on the wall only to find that it was covered in a layer of dust.

Sam was sitting on the docks looking pretty aloof as if in great thought. Freddie would normally have found that fact alone suspicious enough to warrant a comment, but he was currently avoiding Sam the best he could. He didn't really sleep well the night before. Freddie had replayed as many of his past encounters with Sam as much as he could, desperately trying to revaluate their relationship given Shane's revelation the night before about Sam (Spencer's apparent dream of being chased by wild monkeys didn't help Freddie's sleep either). The more he thought about it, the more he agreed with Shane. Sam may have never been crazy before about things like the A/V club and computers and Galaxy Wars, but it seems that she was particular harsh about the subjects only when it came to Freddie himself. Freddie wasn't the only person that Sam classified as a geek and yet he was the only one constantly reminded of it by Sam. She never gave Shane a hard time about his interests. Sam herself was actually pretty knowledgeable about a lot of technical aspects on iCarly. She had voluntarily learned how to work the video camera and a lot of the other equipment with little complaint. Freddie recalled at one point in which he lost a bet to Sam over the meaning of the acronym MPEG. He didn't know why he had overlooked these simple facts before…

It really worried Freddie based on a simple logical argument that he couldn't get over: Sam would constantly tease Freddie over his silly hobbies and interests often to the point of embarrassment, sometimes to the point of an argument, a few times to the point of an outright shouting match. Despite the seeming intolerance, Sam at the very least was ambivalent towards the said hobbies and interests. Hence the logical conclusion would be that Sam's seeming intolerance was caused by some other reason, a reason that seemed to simply be Freddie himself, and well… that really bothered Freddie. He was okay with his unstable friendship with Sam because he had always assumed that their friction was strictly because of difference in interests. Sam disliking him possibly because he was simply… Freddie was unsettling.

"Freddie… Freddie!" Carly was waving a hand directly in front of his eyes, interrupting his train of thought.

"I'm sorry. What's going on with the camp?"

"Well, Spencer and I are going off to the closest Ranger station to get supplies and cots for us. There's a lot of stuff missing so, we're going to need the backseat. So do you think that you and Sam will be okay for an hour or so, on your own?"

"Yeah, why do you even ask?" Carly tilted her head to the side and gave him a look of concern. It was one of those cute looks that Freddie had always liked to see on Carly, but he was too tired to pay much notice at the moment.

"Well, you and Sam have both been acting weird since yesterday. Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"No, nothing like that. I just didn't get much sleep. I don't know anything about Sam. Look, we'll be fine. Make sure Spencer knows what's he's doing okay?"

"Yeah, call us if there's anything you guys need." Carly walked out the door. Freddie presumed she was heading over to Sam to tell her the same thing. Freddie headed over to the car to help unpack his stuff in order to make room for supplies.

_One hour alone with Sam. What's the worst that could happen?_

_10 minutes later:_

Carly and Spencer had left and Sam was still sitting on the dock, her legs dangling over the edge. The fish in the river kept swimming in circles around the ripples Sam's feet made on the surface. Bluegills, Sam recalled. They were the same… just like last time.

"_Look Daddy! I got one! I got one!" said a little seven-year old Samantha Puckett. She held up proudly, a little fish with a blue-greenish mark on its gill._

"_Wow sweetie, you caught a bluegill!" Mr. Puckett kneeled down and helped unhook Samantha's prize catch and put it in a bucket of water with two others that he had caught early. He looked over at his daughter and smiled as she stared fascinated at the little make-shift aquarium. _

"_Their Binomial name is __Lepomis macrochirus, and they're really popular all the way from Canada to Mexico." Samantha looked up at her dad. He never treated her like a little kid, always talking to her like an adult regardless of whether she understood everything, and he always answered her questions now matter how silly they were. Samantha was sure her dad was the smartest dad around._

"_Do they taste good?" Samantha had always liked the taste of __fish, especially when made by her dad, who was also the cook of the family. He had promised to teach her how to make chocolate-chip cookies when they got back home. Dad always baked make-up cookies for Mom when they got into a fight. It worked every time._

"_They're one of the best-testing fish around. I hear only the Walleye__ is better. Next time we come, I'll teach you how to catch one of the bigger game fishes like the Walleye." Sam squealed with glee and grabbed her fishing rob, hoping to get good enough to catch one of the bigger fishes now to impress her dad._

"Cept there never was a next time." Sam thought out loud. She heard Freddie approaching from behind her dragging his ridiculous large suitcases and first aid kit, and wasn't the least bit startled when he spoke.

"Hey Sam, can we talk?" Sam continued to face the river. She wasn't in the mood to talk to Freddie right now.

"What's the matter Benson? Laptop batteries die?"

"Seriously Sam, something's been bothering me lately."

"Ooo, do I get to guess? Let's see. The three most obvious answers would be: your face, your mom, or your face."

"What's your problem anyway?!" Freddie had started to raise his voice. Sam responded by raising hers a little higher.

"My problem is that I want you to leave me alone!"

"What did I do?!" Freddie was totally baffled, and still a little high-strung from yesterday. Freddie was sick of being treated like an insignificant person for Sam to push around. It was always like this. Sam thinks that whatever she says goes without any thought or concern to anyone else.

"Not removing yourself from my presence would be at the top of a long and ever-growing list!" Sam was furious. You would think Freddie could tell when someone didn't want to converse. The man was so dense you needed to wail the message right onto his freaking head.

"I can't believe you! All I want to do is talk, and you bite my head off!"

"Oh! You want to talk! Fine! You are the stupidest, most ignorant, hopeless cow I have even met!" Freddie was about to retort when he heard what sounded like a low rumble of rubble and rocks above them.

"Wait! Sam, quiet! I think something is going on!" Freddie looked toward the mountain above them and sure enough, he saw small little rocks begin to roll down the side toward the campsite.

"Oh! So now you want to stop! Yeah, well too bad!"

"No seriously Sam! I think this place is unstable. If you yell any more, I think there might be an avalanche or something."

"Right… Seriously, is that your best comeback? Watch." Freddie could only stare in horror as Sam inhaled.

"ALL GODS ARE STUPID INCOMPETENT JANKS!!!" Freddie flinched, and waited, only to find nothing happening. He slowly opened one eye to a smug looking Sam. He had just let out a sigh of relief, when the unmistakable sound of rumbling boulders appeared overhead.

A/N: Short chapter, I originally had another Carly and Spencer scene in here where they discover from the park rangers that the reason that the campsite wasn't used was because of risk of rockslides, but I found that it interrupted Freddie and Sam's interaction and that the reader could probably come to that conclusion themselves easily. I don't know, maybe I'll add that in next chapter. Anyway I've finally reached the actual CAMPING part of the story. Next Chapter, Sam and Freddie FINALLY talk about their relationship, and discover things about the other that they didn't know. Also special thanks to drano for pointing out the MPEG moment from the show. I was already planning to reference Sam's knowledge of iCarly's equipment, but I completely forgot about that.

A/N/N: Due to my flaw of measuring my selfworth via fanfiction traffic data, please give happiness in the form of reviews…

P.S. To everyone who read and reviewed this fic thanks a billion. (To those who actually read and reviewed my other fanfic "iSpy 00Seddie", thanks two billion. That was a risky experiment of random genre mixing and those reviews made me feel that I didn't take the risk for nothing)


	7. Chapter 7: Freddie's a Geeky Boomerang

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 7:**

_

* * *

_

Sea & Trees National Park, moments away from impending doom:

Freddie had to think fast, really fast. He looked over at Sam, who seemed to be frozen in shock at the rockslide rapidly approaching them. A quick shove and Sam flew into the rowboat that was currently tied to the dock they had just been standing upon. Freddie untied the knot in record speed and flung himself in as well. (Landing in extremely ungraceful fashion on Sam, who reflexively smacked his head for it) The rubble immediately slammed into the boat's side which in addition to the river's decent current sent it rocketing downstream ahead of harm's way. (which was rapidly following behind) Sam and Freddie held onto each other for dear life as they headed into the unknown.

_

* * *

_

At a nearby ranger station, only a few minutes drive away:

Carly and Spencer were walking towards the station when they heard and felt what appeared to be an earthquake. They turned around to see an ocean of sand, dirt, and even trees flow down the mountainside behind them. Behind them, two park rangers appeared out of the station to get a view of the situation. They were both men and had the look of people who had worked in the national park for a long time.

"Oh no, that's area's been unstable for awhile. John, call the rescue teams immediately. There may have been civilians caught up in that."

"What?! Sam and Freddie are back there, and what do you mean been unstable for a while. I was just there and there wasn't any signs or anything?" Carly was in shock, the temperature in her body dropping even further than that of the chill mountain air.

"Some campers vandalized the signs recently. We just received the new ones and were supposed to put up the new ones tomorrow."

"Carly! Hurry! Into the car!" Spencer had already started the car, and was waving at Carly from the driver's seat through the passenger window. Carly didn't hesitate as she jumped in and buckled up. The two were already heading back in the other direction before the rangers could stop them.

"Wait! It's still really dangerous!" Carly didn't care one bit. Two of the most important people in the world to her were possibly hurt or worse. There was no way she was standing still.

_

* * *

_

A large and unknown amount of miles downstream from Socko's campsite:

Sam woke up exhausted, bruised, and totally soaked. She looked around carefully, trying to push aside the feeling of being tossed around like loose change in a pocket. At some point she and Freddie must have been thrown from the boat.

_Freddie!_

"Freddie!" Sam jumped up to her feet, only to whimper in pain and sit back down. Her leg was throbbing, and her ankle was the size of a grapefruit and still swelling. She got up slower this time, ignoring the pain and getting to her feet. She quickly surveyed their surroundings. There was no dirt and rock around them, just normal forest. They must have out drifted the avalanche. Sam desperately scanned the area, hoping to find a brunette boy close by, alive and breathing.

_Nothing… Where is he?!_

Sam looked one more time and found the rowboat thrown ashore, flipped upside down. She limped towards it, using the adrenaline to ignore the leg that wailed to be given a break.

"Freddie! Are you there, Freddie?!" Sam reached the boat and collapsed next to it. She was hyperventilating from the panic. Here she was, in the middle of nowhere, injured, and alone…

"I'm here…" Freddie's first response was a groan. It was so quiet that Sam thought she had imagined it at first.

"Sam?! Are you there?!" No mistake this time. Freddie was okay. Sam repositioned herself so that she was sitting on a rock next to the boat, planning to use her upper body strength to free Freddie.

"Wait Sam! I can get out on my own. I don't need your help." Sam saw the boat rise a few inches from the ground before collapsing back down, and rolled her eyes. She had noticed recently for a while that Freddie was having self-esteem issues, and decided it would be more productive to humor him this once. She waited until she heard Freddie deeply inhale, getting ready for another attempt, and when the boat started to rise, she grabbed the middle of it and slowly pulled it towards her, opening a way for Freddie to slide out from the other side. She dropped it right back onto the ground when Freddie released.

"You see… *gasp* I… *gasp* am not… *gasp* a wimp…" Freddie exclaimed as he got himself to his feet.

"Yeah, good for you. Are you hurt?" Freddie padded himself down, checking for injuries and shook his head in response. The immediate panic over, Sam suddenly remembered the pain in her leg and grimaced. It didn't go unnoticed by Freddie as he walked over and took a look at her ankle himself.

"What's wrong? Where are you hurt?"

"I don't know Freddie. Given that my ankle will soon outsize you head, I'm going to guess… my ankle!" Freddie ignored Sam's outburst and kneeled down to get a better look at it. He gently rotated her foot, pausing whenever Sam sharply inhaled in pain.

"It's a bad sprain, but I think it's not broken." Freddie gently set her foot down, and then inhaled and exhaled a few deep breaths, before facing Sam again with an accusing stare. "Let me take a moment to comment on your recent rockslide-starting-outburst… Worst. Idea. Ever. It's amazing that we're okay." Freddie shivered at the sudden chill he felt and looked up at the darkening sky. He and Sam were soaked and the chilly night air wasn't helping. Sam too seemed to be feeling the cold.

"Define okay. We are in the middle of the forest with no food and no supplies. I am soaked, freezing, hungry, and I can't even stand up." Sam suddenly had an idea and grabbed her phone from her pocket. "Great, phone's gone. I wonder if the warranty covers being submerged in a river." Freddie was checking his phone as well.

"Mine's dead too. I can't even tell where we are from the landmarks. All the mountains look the same. I couldn't even say which direction we should head in." Sam shivered again, and Freddie started to look worried.

"Look we've gotta get a fire going soon, and get out of this wet clothes or we'll die of hypothermia." Freddie started to take his shirt off and started to ring the water out of it. Sam didn't move an inch, and Freddie gave her a questioning look.

"I'd rather be found dead fully clothed, thank you very much," Sam continued to shiver. Freddie stomped over and thrust his ringed-out shirt at her.

"Look, be angry all you want, but the fact is that this is a life or death situation, and all you've got is me, so please give me a break and just work with me, okay?" Freddie looked around the forest checking the floor for something.

"I'm going out to get some firewood, and I would very much prefer to find you alive and breathing when I get back. The shirt's wool and even though it's wet, it'll keep you warm." Freddie started to march off towards the trees, when Sam cried out after him.

"I'm sorry!"

"What?" Freddie turned around with a suspicious look on his face, like he wasn't sure what he had heard.

"I'm sorry I got us into this mess. I know it's my fault, but please just stay here." Sam tried to avoid Freddie's eyes, but his silence got to her and she reluctantly met his chocolate brown eyes.

"I can't Sam. We need a fire, and you can't even stand let alone walk. I'll be fast, just wait here."

"Look, you could get lost… or worse. Just stay here… please."

_And don't leave me here alone… Don't leave me like Dad did._

"I know you hate me, and I know you're really angry. Just don't leave…" Freddie looked back at her, and seemed to be choosing his words carefully. When he finally spoke it wasn't what she expected.

"I don't hate you Sam, and yes, I'm a little angry. Okay, I'm quite a bit angry, but I really do care about you." Freddie looked down at his feet for a second before once again facing Sam and continued.

"And haven't you realized? You can insult me, humiliate me, emasculate me, and even injure me, and you know what… I've always come back to you." Freddie than turned around and jogged into the forest. Sam started to feel the darkness of the forest close in around her, and was about to panic when she saw Freddie looking back over his shoulder at her. There was something comforting in that.

Sam closed her eyes and slowly let out a large sigh as she thought about what Freddie said. It was true, they had their fights, but when it really counted, they were always there for each other. That had to count for something. Freddie would come back, he always comes back. Even when there was no reason to, he always returned, because that's how he is. You could count on him. Sam looked down at his shirt for a while, and then began to change her clothes.

* * *

A/N: Read and Review… Though I don't know why I say read at the end… hopefully you being at the end already implies that you've read it… but hey, an update during final's week. I must be crazy.


	8. Chapter 8: Freddie's Soliloquy

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 8:**

_In the middle of the woods… somewhere… well at least Freddie knows where:_

"I have no idea where I am," signed Freddie to himself. To be honest he was still a little shaken by what had to be the most emotion he had ever seen on Sam's face in his entire life. That feeling and moment in time was quickly followed by that stupid thing some people do when they're really embarrassed and they kind of keep walking and walking, while replaying the embarrassing moment in their head as they keep walking and walking without even really thinking about where they're going till yeah… they're lost. To top things off he was wet, cold and only had a pathetically thin undershirt as he had given his wool cover to Sam a moment ago.

Everything had kind of happened so fast and so quickly. The shouting match with Sam, a natural disaster of epic proportions, escaping via the most decrepit looking rowboat he had ever seen. Sam looking… vulnerable, even saying sorry (which happened about once a blue moon). Freddie snickered softly to himself.

_It's kind of funny in a way. I had started off going into this vacation with the confidence that I would come home grown-up or at least a little more mature and accomplished, but right now I really just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. No equipment…, no shelter, no food. Worst of all, Sam's counting on me. No one ever counts on me. Heck, I hardly ever count on myself. Things never go right for me. Mom doesn't even let me microwave my own food._

Freddie allowed himself one quick shiver before getting back up and grabbing one more branch of dead wood.

_Guess, that's why I'm not really crying out loud now. Sam's counting on me. I can't blow it now… I have to keeping moving._

That simple thought alone seemed to purge his fear. There was no panic of help not coming, no questioning of whether he would see home again. Just gathering one stick at a time and focusing on the knowledge that they had to get a fire and shelter going. Freddie remembered that he came from the direction of the setting sun. The new calm settled in and soothed Freddie's thoughts and he remembered a lot of things, like the past memories of making iCarly, having fun with the girls. He remembered Carly, who he hadn't thought about for what seemed like a lifetime all of a sudden.

_Funny, you'd think I'd be freaking out over how I never did get a date with her, or even how she's doing right now. She wasn't there when the ground broke free. She's probably fine, but it's like everything makes sense now. I never really loved her… at least not in the way the word love was meant to be used._

_I was in love with love. Carly was the first person who made friends with me, and she was pretty and kind and to a little geek like me she was salvation itself. I put her on a pedestal, worshiping a person who wasn't even really there, just my imagination and my ridiculous elation of having someone who I could be myself around and have it not matter. She's an amazing person… but just an amazing friend. It's funny how that makes sense now._

Freddie grabbed one more stick, checking if it was too moist to burn and decided he had enough. He turned around and started to head back… to Sam, again. The girl had always perplexed him. She drove him crazy on a daily basis, always poking at him where he was weakest, unnerving him with that glare that seemed to gaze into his very soul. She could always read him like a book.

_It's funny… I always thought that if I had one word to choose for my relationship with Sam, I would struggle to avoid 'loathing'. She was always so independent, strong, and never cared if the world was against her, she'd just bulldoze through. I've always envied that. I've always second-guessed myself… never sure. You never see such hesitation in Sam, well at least till today._

Freddie kept walking… thinking… thinking some more, and then snorted.

_We don't make any sense do we? I mean, we don't have anything in common and neither of us could really ever give in to the other. We'd fight… Sam'd win… we'd get irritated and mad, and then before we knew it, the anger had recessed, and the whole circle would start all over, like a game that neither of us could figure out how to win. I guess if I had to describe the feeling, it's like you've putting together the puzzle of your life and you've finally worked yourself to the final corner and there's only two pieces left, and they DON'T fit. Someone might just throw up the hands in the air in frustration and just give up, but we're not like that. We'd both be the kind of person who would just keep pushing and shoving, and pushing and shoving, hoping to not break either piece, and before you know it, *poof*, they fit._

Freddie sighed,

_Yeah, I guess that sums it up pretty well. We're like two puzzle pieces we've both forced together out of sheer will and tenacity, to the point where they're ruined and you couldn't put them anywhere else even if you wanted to. Guess we're just stuck with each other…like a pair of ruined puzzle pieces. _

…_and it might not be so bad._

A/N: The end… jk. Sorry about the short chapter, crazy week. I just kind of literally failed my final (worth 25% of my overall grade) hours ago. You know the kind where you only did half the problems and was hoping that the test was equally hard for everyone else only to hear as you're leaving. "Oh, that was so easy!" Grrrrr.

Oh IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENT. I just figured out how to do that reply to people's review thing via email like yesterday. So yeah, for those of you who thought I was a stuck-up meanie. I'm not mean, just really really stupid. So from now on, I am definitely replying to everyone who reviews. Cuz you people are awesome.

A/N: If you haven't heard, you should cuz I was one of those people that were up at 1:00 A.M. on 12/12/08 when magazine scans of Tiger Beat were posted of Jennette Mccurdy and Nathan Kress's reaction to the new iCarly kissing scene for an upcoming January 3rd episode. Many frantic google searches later, I was confused about what episode it was since people say it's "iKiss" which I can't find anywhere in upcoming episodes and then somewhere that its in the episode "iReunite with Missy" and then I realize WHO CARES, IT'S A SEDDIE KISS!!! IN AN UPCOMING EPISODE OF ICARLY (season 2… huh I have never seen a kiss between two of the main cast members on a Nick or Disney show that early before. Usually a season 3 or 4 thing since you getting towards the end.) Anyway… WHO CARES, IT'S A SEDDIE KISS!!! IN AN UPCOMING EPISODE OF ICARLY!!!


	9. Chapter 9: A Hopeful Fire

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 9:**

_Back at what remains of Socko's campsite:_

"Spencer, please let me help. The rescue teams aren't here, and Sam and Freddie could be hurt. The faster we move, the better." Carly was standing on the road safely away from the rubble, shouting over at Spencer who was doing his best to waddle around the unstable ground, his feet sinking roughly 2 feet every other step.

"I'm sorry Carly. I've already been on this ground for 5 minutes and it feels like it could all slide at any moment. There's no way I'm letting you walk over here."

"Spencer, Sam and Freddie are more like siblings than friends to me. We've been through everything together. I could never live with myself if they're hurt, and I could've helped them, but didn't… Spencer, if it was me and Dad told you couldn't help. How would you feel?" Carly looked so miserable, and Spencer could only look at her guiltily. Torn between the need to protect Carly and the desperate urge to find Sam and Freddie, Spencer swore. It was something he never did, never really allowed himself to do, in order to be a good role model and brother to Carly, but sometimes it was just too much.

"Alright Carly, but I'm going to walk over to you first, and then you stay an arm's distance from me at all times. You hear?" Spencer carefully crawled and navigated the rubble, carefully patting and kicking potential steps before moving. Carly was boucing up and down in impatience, feeling like the entire world was forcefully pulling the air from her lungs, leaving her in a constant state of suffocation.

Even after she was following Spencer, she felt like she could hit him for going so slowly. Spencer insisted on testing every footing that both he and Carly were going to take and it was a snail's pace. Carly wanted to scream, but knew that this was just as hard for Spencer as it was for her. One particular step though, left a slushing sound, one of mud as opposed to normal soil. Spencer noticed it too and pulled Carly over to him.

"Careful, that's probably where the river used to be."

"The river… the river! Spencer, Sam was on the dock the last time I saw her. And She looked like she wasn't going to be moving from that spot for a while!" Carly started moving dirt and rubble around her, looking for the dock. She was lucky, as she found a piece of wood on the first spot she tried, a small miracle.

"Sam! Sam! Say something! Sam! Freddie! …Freddie! Don't do this to me you guys! Say something!" Carly's face was covered in tears at this point as she kept digging as fast she could. Spencer noticed that the tips of her fingernails were bleeding at the harsh treatment she was giving them.

"Freddie! …I'm sorry I never went on a date with you! Freddie! Sam! Sam, I'm sorry I didn't lend you more of my clothes… Please… just don't leave me…" Carly started digging slower and slower as she waited for her friends' voices to appear, to tell her that they were alright and everything was going to be just fine. iCarly was invincible… wasn't it. Carly broke down sobbing and curled herself into a ball. Spencer didn't know what do. He didn't know what he could say that would not obviously be a euphemism or a flat out lie.

"Carly… maybe…"

"No! No! I can't let myself cry! I won't let myself cry! Not till I see a body! I'm not breaking down until I see a body!" Carly wiped her face quickly and started digging. Spencer quickly followed, silently awed by Carly's strength. He sometimes wondered who was it that really relied on whom. He had sometimes thought that perhaps Carly would be fine without him, but could he really be fine without her?

Carly suddenly paused, and Spencer looked over at what she was staring at, fearing the worst. It was the dock's post, the post that the boat had been tied to if Spencer recalled.

"They're alive." Carly said slowly. Spencer didn't understand.

"How do you know?"

"There's no rope tied to this post. That must mean that Freddie and Sam got away by boat."

"Carly… the rockslide probably tore the boat off the dock and threw it downstream. You don't know that…"

"Spencer, if the boat was torn, then it would have either torn the rope or ripped off the post all together. Neither of which happened. The rope was untied, which means someone ingeniously realized that the only way they could outrun a rockslide, was by the river.

_Freddie… oh my… and he definitely would have made sure Sam was safe first before getting away himself. Freddie was always selfless like that… oh my… Sam was so lucky to have met you._

"Spencer! I'm sure! They're both alive and downriver! I'm going to be optimistic and we're going to find them!"

"But Carly, there's no road! And it can't be safe to walk there by this path." Neither obstacle bothered Carly. They were both alive, which meant they would be fine. Both of them were stubborn, and weren't quitters. They were both the type to keep trying till they won. It now depended on Carly to get to them in time with help.

_

* * *

_

At Freddie and Sam's makeshift campsite:

Sam hung onto Freddie's shirt tightly, giving a silent prayer that he was alright. It was funny, she had always thought that in a life-threatening situation, it would be Freddie breaking down, and she would the one to keep a clear head. Except it was she who freaked, and Freddie was the one who stepped up. Sam made a silent promise to herself to give him an easier time if they both made it back alive. Freddie deserved a lot more credit than she gave him. He proved that today.

_No, not just today. He's been changing this whole time, and I just ignored it. Heck! The shirt is big enough that I get my arms and knees under it. 'Little' Benson's grown enough that I actually have to tilt my head up to talk to him eye-to-eye._

Freddie emerged from the darkness, carrying enough firewood to make at least two campfires. He dropped it all next to Sam, and sat down next to her looking defeated.

"What's the matter dorkface?" Sam quipped, but softly, without the harsh edge she normally put on it. She was just too tired to put up that front anymore.

Freddie smiled, "I am so happy to hear you say that. It's good you're feeling like yourself. I was worried I'd have think up jokes or something to cheer you up. You know, I've been reading this joke book lately…"

"Freddie… you're not funny. Even if you knew a joke, you wouldn't be able to tell it right."

"I don't know, you laugh at me quite a bit. I think you find me plenty funny."

"I laugh AT you, Benson. Most people consider that a bad thing."

"But I do make you laugh. In fact, I daresay I make you laugh more than any other person you know."

"That's is! …true." Sam admitted. This was uncomfortable territory for her, and she quickly changed the subject, "So why were you looking all droopy-faced when you came back?"

Freddie squirmed uncomfortably for a sec before saying softly, "I realized that even with firewood, I have no way to start a fire…"

Sam smiled to one side of her face. Freddie supposed that most would call it a boyish grin, but it was kind of fitting that Sam could do it so well. She pulled off a hair band and scooted over carefully to Freddie's pile of sticks. (Freddie noticed that Sam had been soaking her swollen foot in the icy stream and that it was already looking loads better. Perhaps she'll be able to put some weight on it soon.)

"No worries, I can do it" Sam pulled out a fork from her pocket (Freddie groaned, but didn't comment) and started to carve a small hole into one of the larger sticks. (a small log really) She then took two small sticks and arranged them into a cross. Then Sam took her hair band and did a knot that looked extremely complex to Freddie tying the cross together. Sam then pulled a piece of string out of her pocket and tied it from one stick to the other. Freddie was fascinated at what Sam was doing. He had never seen this before.

Sam pulled on one stick experimentally, and Freddie noticed that the second stick spun whenever Sam pulled or pushed on the first one. Sam set the second spinning stick into the hole she had made in the small log and looked up at Freddie.

"I need small dried leaves, needles, grass, anything that will burn easily." Freddie quickly looked around the immediately area, grabbing dead grass, and dried-up leaves before returning to Sam. She set some of the dead grass into the hole and made a little mound of the stuff around the hole as well. Sam then started pulling and pushing the first stick causing the second stick to spin faster and faster. Freddie really wanted to compliment on Sam's resourcefulness but Sam had a look of such concentration that he just watched silently.

Soon enough, the friction between the stick and the log caused the dead grass to start smoking, and Sam looked up at Freddie and motioned to him. Putting two and two together, he leaned down towards the smoking grass and blew softly. He was rewarded with soft glowing embers. After few more minutes of Sam spinning her sticks and Freddie blowing, they had a small fire going. Freddie grabbed some more grass and leaves and carefully tended to it. Sam laid back down so she could put less stress on her sore leg. She smiled as she watched Freddie work enthusiastically, looking hopeful for the first time in along while. She turned away quickly when Freddie looked back over to her. The fire was a true campfire now, burning on its own.

"Where did you learn that, Sam?"

Sam was silent for a few moments. She thought about putting up her wall again, and quip something back. No, she was tired, and Freddie didn't deserve that right now. She didn't deserve that right now.

"My dad taught me."

Freddie went silent himself for a moment, quickly realizing how important the last statement was.

"You don't… talk about him very much." Freddie commented softly.

"There's not much to tell." Sam lied.

"That's not true. He's your dad. He taught you things. Heck, you share half of your genetic build-up with him. He's important. I would know too, because my dad's not around anymore either." Sam didn't want to talk about this anymore. Thoughts of her dad always hurt, but Freddie's eyes were so caring, so genuinely worried that Sam just couldn't say no. He had never looked at her before with such warm chocolate brown eyes before. Something had happened.

"My dad… was really smart, and he always tried to teach me cool, weird things when I was little." Sam looked over at Freddie, but he didn't say anything, just patiently waited for her to continue.

"He was always busy. Mom and I hardly got to see him at one point. I think his lab was losing their funding or something, but the point is that he just wasn't around. Mom and him were always getting into fights over money. I think they both forgot how to love each other. Money can ruin people." Sam wasn't sure when, but at some point Freddie had sat down next to her, and was supporting her head with his arm. It felt really, really good, and Sam didn't care anymore. She was tired of constantly putting up a front and acting strong. Right now, she wanted to be cradled and supported. She thought that she was long overdue for that, and Sam just let her weight sink into Freddie, the weight of the world disappearing with just that one motion.

"What happened? To your father…" Freddie said without looking down at her.

"He… well I could only guess from what Mom says when she's drunk now, but I think he took shortcuts in his experiments and testings for his lab's product. The product ended up having severe side effects and the FDA found out my dad had broken some federal laws." Sam sighed. She wasn't even crying, perhaps she had wasted all the tears in the years before, perhaps destiny had finally decided that she had pained enough but she wasn't crying now, just remorseful.

"He's in jail, Freddie. My dad's in prison, and I keep thinking that one day, I'll join him."

"That would never happen, Sam. Carly and I would never let that happen, and most importantly I know now that you'll never let that happen." Freddie finally looked down and he seemed so sure of himself. He no longer looked like the techie-nerd boy Freddie Benson, just Freddie. He just looked like Freddie now.

"Freddie, you're so like him in so many ways. Your enthusiasm for your latest inventions, the way your eyes light up when you see something geeky that interests you. You remind me of him a lot, and I'm afraid that I may have resented you for it." Sam sighed and took a few deep breaths. She needed to say this.

"I was afraid… in some stupid subconscious way probably, that you'd end up hurting me like he did. That I'd finally get use to having you around, and you'd just disappear on me. I so wished early on that you'd just give up on me and Carly and just disappear, but that was stupid. You must hate me."

"It's not stupid and it kinda makes sense, and I already told you that I don't hate you. Sure, I'd like some more appreciation now and then, but I NEVER hated you. Every time I was picked on by the jocks at school, you'd rescue me. Every time I went through a school day being ignored by everyone, you and Carly were always there. And yes, sometimes you said some pretty harsh things, but even I'll admit that I'm kind of a wuss and could use a kick in the rear." Freddie had started playing with Sam's hair, but he didn't notice. Sam definitely noticed, but didn't dare comment.

"That's what I liked most about you Sam. You never ignored me. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's neglect, and you never neglected me. In a way, it was like you didn't see me, Freddie Benson. You saw who I should be, someone with a spine that could stand up for myself. You know, be independent and fight back. You kept prodding me, expecting that person to appear, but I never could."

"I don't know… You did pretty well today. Look, we're both warm." Sam nodded at the fire. Freddie smiled and Sam closed her eyes. The moon was overhead and Freddie estimated that it had to be close to midnight. (His watch was sadly not waterproof) After a long day, Sam deserved her rest. Freddie kept a close watch, and waited for Sam to fall asleep. He was awarded with pretty loud snoring and Freddie glanced down at Sam with her mouth gaping wide open.

_Sleeps like a princess, she does…_

Giving Sam a tender kiss to her temple, Freddie kept a close watch by the fire, making sure to keep safe the most important person in his life.

**

* * *

**

A/N: Phew! Okay, I'll be the first to admit this. I'm a guy, and writing lovey dovey scenes freak me out! I am always afraid that any romantic scene I write will be apocalyptically bad. So yay! They're together! Freddie and Sam sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage… etc, etc, etc. Anyone expecting a great happy get-together scene from this story. I REALLY HOPE I didn't disappoint, cuz I tried REALLY REALLY HARD!

**A/N/N: So PLEASE REVIEW!!! **

**(Also, please try my other story: Seddie: Year One. I love writing Sam and Freddie as a couple and that story cuts right to the chase. That's where all my creative humor has been going too lately, and I personally think its funny, so please give it a chance.)**

**P.S. "That is! …true" is my current all-time favorite Seddie line and I think really sums up their relationship.**


	10. Chapter 10: Cheesy Endings

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Part 10:**

_That place where people go to when they dream:_

"_Class, today we have a new student. I'd like you all to meet Fredward Benson. This is his first day, so why don't you all give him a big third-grade welcome." Sam shifted on her seat in order to get on her knees as she peered over at what had to be the smallest-looking third-grader she had ever seen. The little brunette-haired boy looked more like a stuff-animal than a third grader from the ridiculously large turtleneck he was wearing (half of his face was hidden under it). The poor kid looked terrified as he had to be torn from his mother's leg by the teacher in front of the whole class. His eyes frantically dashed from one side of the room to the other like a cornered animal._

"_Sam, he's terrified. Why isn't anyone smiling?" Carly, Sam's best friend, glanced around the classroom with a stern look, as if disappointed that people weren't giving the newcomer a chance. Carly then turned and motioned to Sam. "Come on, let's say something."_

"_Hello Freddie!" the two spoke simultaneously. Freddie looked over at the source of the greeting slowly and reluctantly. He seemed confused from the impromptu nickname the girls had given them on the spot and then slowly smiled back. His eyes seemed to have locked with Sam's._

"_Okay, class. Let's break up into pairs and have each pair grab one set of crayons. I want you all to draw someone who is very special to you." The teacher turned towards Freddie before asking, "Why don't you pair up with…"_

"_I'll take him!" Sam interrupted. She quickly grabbed a box of crayons and rushed over to Freddie. After forcefully taking his arm, Sam dragged Freddie over to Carly's desk. Carly meanwhile was in the crowd of pairing third-graders trying to grab the attention of Jake Krandal along with every other girl in the class._

"_So… who're you drawing?" Sam looked over at Freddie, but he was gazing off somewhere else in the crowd. Sam waved a hand in front of his face, but he wasn't even blinking._

_Freddie pointed his finger at the crowd. "Who's that?" Sam squinted as she tried to follow the boy's wobbly pointer finger._

"_Oh, her. She's Carly, my best friend." Sam looked back over to Freddie, but he was still staring dreamily with a little bit of drool starting to build at the edge of his mouth._

"_She's really pretty…"_

_Sam paused in silence for about two seconds…_

_*WHAM*_

_Freddie reeled on the ground in pain, cradling his swelling cheek. "Owww! What's your problem?"_

_Sam stared him down until he started squirming before answering. "Breathing the same air as you, dorkface!"_

* * *

Sam woke up slowly, shaking off the last remnants of her dream as she stretched her arms. She looked around to find that she was alone by the remaining charcoals of last night's campfire.

"Freddie?"

She stood up quickly, looking for him. She spotted his silhouette by the river. He was hunched over the edge and looked like he was… brushing his teeth?!. Sam marched over for a closer look, and sure enough, after scrubbing his teeth with a toothbrush, Freddie swallowed some water from a bottle, rinsed, and spat into the river. Sam was shocked and a little speechless.

"Wait… What… How… Huh?!"

"Don't worry, the water's clean. I put an iodine tablet into the water I filtered from the river. It's drinkable." Freddie saw Sam pointing at the toothbrush, and Freddie's mouth formed a small 'o' as he suddenly understood. Meanwhile, Sam threw up her arms and made a facial expression that seemed to simply say 'duh.'

"Oh, where did all the stuff come from? Remember what I was holding on the dock right before the avalanche hit?" Sam took a moment to collect her memories before answering.

"Your luggage! You had your huge suitcases with you."

"Yeah, last night I figured that my luggage also made it downstream with the rest of us. As soon as the sun rose, I went upstream to see if the bags were caught anywhere. You see, my mom bought those bags, which means they're both watertight and buoyant." Freddie ran away from the shore for a few moments and returned with two ridiculously sized suitcases, pulling each one on top of its wheels with a handle in each hand.

Sam was ecstatic. "THAT'S INSANE!"

"I KNOW! Here, my mom packed spare toothbrushes. You can brush and freshen yourself up with towels and soap." Freddie opened one of the many compartments in the bag and revealed a set of toiletries to Sam.

Sam grabbed some soap, glad for a chance to finally get some grime off of her, when Freddie opened up the other case.

"We've also got… fresh clothes. Well, my fresh clothes." Freddie corrected.

Sam shrugged. "I like your clothes. They're warm."

Freddie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, my mom always says she prefers function over fashion."

Sam chuckled, "No kidding."

Freddie looked over at Sam suspiciously, "Is there something wrong with the way I dress?"

Sam looked away from Freddie trying to hide a smile, "Nope… It's very… you."

Freddie decided not to comment as he threw Sam a few shirts and a pair of his jeans. The clothes were too big for her, but at least they were clean. He went to look at the boat that had saved their lives while Sam changed behind some bushes. A careful inspection confirmed this morning what he noticed the day before, multiple broken boards and leaks. He could try to repair the boat with the tools now available to him, but it didn't seem worth it, as Sam and him were probably better off on foot following the river at that rate.

Looking over the damages one last time, Freddie walked back to site where Sam and him had slept last night. (Well Sam mostly) He could hardly believed what happened the day before himself. Sam actually opened herself up to him, and the two had a true, honest conversation. Even this morning he could tell the difference, Sam's quips had far less of edge and more a playful teasing tone to them. It was like their bickering had went from spiteful cousins to… well old married couple didn't sound the most flattering, but still he knew now that Sam really did care, had real feelings, and well he cared for her a lot more than he ever realized before. All in all, Freddie realized that he was a pretty lucky guy, since Sam was right here all along and well, she's a pretty awesome girl.

He wanted to be more than friends; he wanted to share more with her. No more pining for idealisms that weren't there. No more wasting time on such silly fabrications because he was scared to see outside of his little imagination. Sam was real, and she was right here.

_Now the real question is… do I tell her? Or do I continue to pine from a safe distance?_

Sam walked back over to him carrying her soap, towel, toothbrush and a water bottle, apparently finding time to change, freshen, and brush her teeth while he was occupied with his thoughts. It was now or never. He had the advantage of the moment. The two were on unusually good terms after last night. Sam had just got a fresh set of clothes and a chance to get the grime of the wilderness off of her. She was in a pretty pleasant mood.

_Now's my chance… Just say it… "I like you."_

"Sam… I… I…"

_Damn it… Saying it to Carly was never this hard… Why is this so hard?_

"I…"

Sam apparently didn't notice that Freddie was having problems with first-grade vocabulary when she interrupted, "You wouldn't happen to have any food packed, would you?"

_Crap… Missed my chance… Sam's hungry and I don't want to compete with her stomach for her attention. It would be so embarrassing to lose… Wait!_

"Actually I can do one better than just food." Freddie opened another compartment in the back of his luggage to reveal a whole layer of neatly packed Fat Cakes. "Ta da!"

"No way! You packed Fat Cakes! Were these for me?" Sam grabbed one and tore the wrapping off with the finesse of a practiced eater.

"Yeah, to be honest I was going to bribe you…"

"Oh… for alone time with Carly…" Sam's disappointment was such that she didn't even take a single bite out of her Fat Cake, and Freddie's heart sank below his stomach. Freddie suddenly panicked.

"No! It's not what you think! Well, it is what you think! But it's not like that anymore! I've… I've… You were right! Carly was never the girl for me! The Carly I was obsessively in love with never existed. She was a fabricated idealism that I worshiped because I was too scared to try opening up to a real person. You were right… and I was wrong." Sam actually dropped her Fat Cake. Whatever she expected, that last burst of sentences was not it. Suddenly she seemed to regain her composure.

"Say that last part again," said Sam with a confident smirk.

"I worshiped a fabricated idealism because I was too scared of opening up?"

"No, the other last part."

Freddie suddenly realized where this was going. "You were right, and I was wrong."

Now it apparent that Sam was enjoying this. "Again."

Freddie rolled his eyes and sighed but went along, "You were right and I was wrong."

"One more time, just to make the message clear."

"Sam…"

Sam eyes lightened up and her cheeks flushed with color. She looked… happy, just simply happy. It filled Freddie up with... well life, and if he didn't tell Sam about his feelings soon he'd explode. Sam smiled before saying, "All right, all right. Also, I just remembered something. Open the first case, second pouch from the top." Freddie looked confused, but opened it anyway.

_Why does Sam want to show me my socks?_

A book fell out, a book with the title 'The Nickel Fortune.'

"Remember when I said that I'd give you the book back as soon as I was done with it. Well, I finished it at the hotel. I slipped it back in your bags, but I forgot to tell you. I was… distracted at the time." Sam looked away in embarrassment as she recalled the moment that she realized that she may have enjoyed Freddie's company more than she was willing to admit.

"Thanks. Did you like it?"

Sam smiled at Freddie, and it was real smile. He could tell; the smile reached her eyes.

"It was pretty good. The ending was really cheesy though." Freddie all of sudden had an idea, a crazy idea, but he so wanted to try it.

"There's no way. 'The Penny Treasure' was an action adventure thriller from start to finish. There's no way that 'The Nickel Fortune' could have a cheesy ending," said Freddie in a patronizing tone.

Sam suddenly entered 'competitive mode.' "You want to bet!" She grabbed the book out of Freddie's hands and started flipping pages. Freddie meanwhile silently and subtlety moved closer and leaned.

Sam flipped towards the end, completely engrossed in one upping Freddie in another argument she knew that she was in the right. Finally finding the page she was looking for, she pointed emphatically and looked up. "Ha! See! Right…" Sam never finished that statement.

Freddie's face was only an inch away from hers when she looked up. She could make out a little sliver of green in his eyes' irises they were so close. Freddie grinned and said with a completely straight face.

"That's alright… I like cheesy endings." Sam was flat out speechless, a state she personally always disliked because honestly, wasn't there always SOMETHING to say? She tried working her lips… err her voice one more time.

"I l-l-like cheesy endings t-too…" And with that Freddie Benson kissed Sam Puckett for the first time, and in the cheesiest sense possible… it was grand. It was sugar and spice and everything nice, and well… as far as first kisses go, the two could do a lot worse. They were so completely entranced that they didn't even notice a chopping sound in the distance.

"FREDDIE!!! SAM!!! I'VE COME TO SAVE YOU!!!" Carly Shay's indistinguishable voice was bellowed from a megaphone from high above Freddie and Sam. Her voice was barely louder than the roaring rotating blades of the helicopter she was on. Freddie and Sam tore apart from each other so quickly that they landed ungracefully on their bottoms. They looked up to see Carly and Spencer onboard a rusty old helicopter that looked like it had flown in the Vietnam War. Carly turned to the pilot with her megaphone and didn't spare him when she yelled.

"LOWER SOCKO!!! NEED I REMIND YOU THAT THIS ENTIRE FIASCO IS YOUR FAULT!!! NOW BRING THE CHOPPER LOWER!!!" Spencer looked at Socko in an apologetic matter while Carly turned back to Freddie and Sam.

"GRAB THE LADDER!!! …AND WERE YOU TWO JUST SMACKING LIPS?!!!" Sam and Freddie shook their heads frantically as Carly looked on suspiciously. She unfurled a rope ladder from the chopper as it hugged the tree line as close as it could. Sam looked over at Freddie for a moment.

"Is there anything you want to bring home?" Freddie shook his head.

"My laptop, but that was in the third suitcase. I couldn't find it. It must have gotten past me." Freddie motioned for Sam to go first. He was worried about her leg. Even though she had been walking around okay all morning, he didn't trust it completely with a ladder. Sam looked at the ladder for a moment, and then grabbed a handful of Fat Cakes. She stuffed them in her pockets before ascending the ladder slowly. Freddie did his best to assist her from below (also trying to stop staring at her rear… such is the challenge for any guy ascending a ladder below a girl)

The two boarded Socko's chopper and seated themselves comfortably. Sam and Carly shared a fierce hug between two reunited best friends. Spencer was slapping Freddie on the back and congratulating him on his first camping trip with a teasing smile on his face. Sam and Freddie shared a quick look at each other and smiled. Freddie felt older and a little more mature at that.

_All in all, the trip wasn't so bad. Not just the trip to Sea & Trees National Park, but my trip to maturity. I feel like… I know what kind of guy I want to be when I see Sam (and if I don't know then she's usually telling me…) and I know where I want to be… well wherever she is. She and I never looked like we'd fit together, but such things don't really matter. I like her and well it looks like she likes me. We both definitely have our differences, but we're both so stubborn I don't think that they'll ever slow us down. All in all, I'm a pretty lucky guy._

El Fin

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A/N: Booyah! The final chapter of my first fic. Epilogue coming soon! For those of you who thought the second chapter of the story where Freddie and Sam are in line to buy 'The Nickel Fortune' was completely random and non-relevant, hah! The entire point of that chapter was set up the kiss in the end. SO YEAH! The MAN has a PLAN! And that ties up all the loose ends… oh wait… heh… sorry Shane…

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_An unknown amount of miles further downstream from where Freddie and Sam were stranded:_

Shane was shivering alone on the shore, his kayak ruined nearby. He was cold, wet, hungry, miserable, and lonely. He had no idea when the rescue teams were coming to get him. He was so bored that he started rhyming a little tune to himself.

"My name is Shane…"

"And I'm in pain…"

"This song is lame…"

Shane sighed. No, things could be worse. He's been in worse pain before. At least this time his unfortunate circumstances weren't caused by Sam nor Carly. (A/N: ROLF!!! See Chp 6) Yeah, one needed to think optimistically. Good things will happen. You just have to keep a positive outlook. He heard some clatter near the shore and walked over to see a ridiculously large suitcase wash itself next to him.

_Wait a minute… That's Freddie's suitcase. I remember seeing that._

He opened it to find Freddie's laptop inside. Shane smiled to himself. He looked further to find a compartment filled entirely with Fat Cakes and started jumping up and down in joy!

"Dude! Food AND Freddie's computer! This totally rocks! I'll have Fat Cakes and Hungry Hungry Hippos!" Shane booted up Freddie's laptop and brought up the video game that Freddie had been working on, starting up a game while chewing on a Fat Cake.

_Poor Freddie… I was always luckier than that guy._

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A/N: Okay… Seriously. Thank you to all who reviewed!

This chapter: I so wished I could have done this one better. I wrote it in Freddie's POV, but I really wanted Sam's too so I tried writing it in and well... that didn't work. Ah well.

**This fanfic started off as me blowing off some steam after seeing "iStage an Intervention" and all its Creddie scenes. I really wanted to write a fic that had Sam and Freddie work towards a relationship slowly and believably (The question of whether I succeeded is… meh but points for effort, right?). I honestly only expected like 6 reviews by the end of this. (All by my sister… who's a little biased)**

**Thank you everybody who reviewed! Thanks to you. I am now writing three other iCarly fics and updating them regularly. You've made me a regular fanfic writer and I think I'll keep doing this for a while.**

**If you liked this, I'm also writing "Seddie: Year One" and "iFilm Freddie." My third fic "iSpy 00Seddie" is slightly on hiatus until I have time for it. I'm thinking of doing another fic that will be either (Holiday themed Seddie, iCarly-toned pre-Seddie shorts that lead to Seddie finish, or a "Bedazzled" styled Seddie where Freddie/Sam accidentally sells their soul)**

**P.S. I'm curious now that the story is finished, how many people who alerted this story will fave it. *shrugs* First fic so I have no idea what to expect. I learned which chapters suck, by watching the hits statistics for individual chapters though lol.**

**P.P.S. So since this is the last chapter with only an epilogue to go! PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE STORY!!! I love review feedback! Happy Holidays everyone!!!**


	11. Epilogue: Dreams Come True

**Ruined Puzzle Pieces**

**Epilogue:**

_In the A/V Club, a few days later:_

Freddie sat at the A/V's summer club meeting. Freddie looked around and saw pretty much every member was here and accounted for, even Shane the A/V club President, who only just got rescued from the wilderness the day before after building himself a shelter comprised entirely of sticks was present. Freddie swore he could still see a few pine needles in the man's hair as he went through a file of papers that were relevant to today's special event. Freddie wondered if meeting for a club that had gatherings over the summer possibly could be considered loserish by the rest of the student body, but shrugged as he admitted he like today's event. Even if one cared, you could do worse. You could be Gibby, who wasn't even in the club, but was here anyway with his friend Jeremy. The two were arguing over something in the corner of the room.

"Did you read the _Nickel Fortune_'s ending?" asked Gibby in hushed tones.

"AH-CHOO! Yeah! It was totally corny. The main character is supposed to… AH-CHOO! …be a tragic unlucky loser… AH-CHOO! It made him relatable… AH-CHOO! The series is going to 'jump the shark' if he and the girl gets together. Their constant bickering made for half of the… AH-CHOO! …appeal during the action adventure scenes."

Freddie shook his head and chuckled to himself. He read the book himself in the last two days and didn't find any problems with it. In fact, he was a proud defendant of the new couple on all the internet message boards and even came up with a new word the represent the relationship that squashed the two character names into one until it was complete jumble of syllables. He supposed he was ultimately a romantic through and through.

Shane stepped up on a podium in the front of the room and tapped on the microphone to get everyone's attention. He turned on a large projector that was showing an image from his laptop screen containing every member's name in a large list.

"Okay, so I'll like to thank everyone for coming, and we will proceed with the A/V club's 12th 48-hour film contest very soon. Just to quickly reiterate the rules, everyone will break up into pairs and each pair will be given 48-hours to shoot, edit, and compile a film to be reviewed. All films will be asked to incorporate a common theme. Now for the specific dos and don'ts…"

Freddie yawned. This was his third 48-hour contest and he had the rules memorized. In fact he won the last two. Freddie opened up his backpack and decided to finish his lunch. After taking out some French fries and a chocolate milkshake, Freddie dipped the potato into the malt and savored the strange, but tasty combination of sweet and salty. Sam had shown him one of her favorite food combinations the day before and Freddie had to admit, the weirdness of the combo made it if anything the more appealing. Freddie looked up again at Shane since he finally finished with the rules and was moving on to pairing up the members into teams.

"…Jeremy and Gibby are a team at their specific request. Let's not have a repeat of last year's dancing music video guys. The judges do in general prefer all the characters to keep their shirts on… Okay next pair is…" Shane paused as a person appeared in the doorway of the room. She was looking across the room nervously and was playing with her hands behind her back.

"Hey Sam. What brings you here today?" Sam glanced over at Freddie for a moment before bringing her eyes back at Shane. She gave a nervous smile before answering.

"Uh… I'd like to join… the A/V club?"

Jeremy and Gibby both jumped from their seats and looked for an exit. Freddie sat up, grabbed both of them, and forced them back down.

"Don't embarrass us, you guys," he hissed into their ears. He turned back around to Sam and Shane.

Shane continued, "Okay, well we definitely encourage newcomers to participate in the contest. It really helps them get a feel for what our club does. So what are your skills?"

Sam chuckled nervously to herself. "I don't have any skills or experience, and to be honest I can be a little lazy."

Shane hesitated a moment before answering. "Heh, well that's okay. We try to pair everyone so that the teams are relatively even and fair. So let's pair you with our most experienced member. You'll be teamed with Freddie Benson. Okay?"

Sam nodded and walked over to Freddie's table in the back of the room while meeting everyone's stares with a little sarcastic hand wave and a smile before sitting down. Everybody was still looking over at the two, shocked at the recent turn of events, but faced Shane again as he continued pairing. Freddie whispered into her ear.

"No skills or experience? You know how to work a camera better than half the people here, and I know for a fact that you've edited videos for the iCarly site before."

Sam smiled at him before whispering back. "Shane told me yesterday that it was the best way to get paired with you." Sam quietly grabbed his hand under the table and Freddie forgot what he was going to say.

Freddie grinned like an idiot and starting focusing on everything in the room except Sam while she stole of few of his fries. (Some things never changed.) He saw a motion in the corner of his eye close to the windows facing the hallway and when he turned he managed to catch a quickly ducking head of black hair. Amused, Freddie turned to Sam.

"Make sure you call me Benson today."

Sam slurping on Freddie's milkshake managed a barely recognizable "Why?"

Freddie nodded over towards the window, "Someone followed you."

Sam looked over and at that point Carly gave up and waved back. Sam motioned to her to join them and Carly walked over to the door. Shane once again raised an eyebrow at being interrupted.

"Carly, are you…"

"Relax Shane, I'm just visiting." Not sparing him a second look, Carly quickly walked over to back of the room where Sam and Freddie sat.

Sam looked over at Freddie to explain, "Relax. She knows. I told her."

Freddie didn't even bother whispering. "YOU TOLD HER!"

Sam shrugged while she nonchalantly shipped on Freddie's shake. "We're best friends. We tell each other everything."

Carly sat down and gave a look at Freddie. "Freddie. Sam told me about yesterday, and I have to say that I'm very disappointed in you."

Freddie quickly looked back and forth between the two with his mouth wide open. "What? Wait, you didn't hear my side of the story."

Carly shrugged, "Don't worry. Sam told me your side of the story too, and I still have to say that I'm disappointed."

Freddie looked over at Sam in disbelief, "Sam, you can't do that." Sam shrugged and grinned mischievously back at him. He turned back to Carly and then back at Sam and then back again towards Carly. "This isn't fair. You two can't gang up on me like this. I don't have anyone to tell about my relationship stuff."

Sam passed Carly Freddie's fries and the two both shrugged at the same time and chorused, "Why not?"

_I so need to make guy friends…_

Freddie lied his head down on the table while Sam patted his head while saying, "Relax, you have Spencer."

Freddie groaned, "Spencer is Carly's brother and he stinks at keeping secrets. He doesn't count." He looked over at Sam and Carly giggling together and couldn't help feeling happy himself.

_Oh well, Sam's happy and I guess that's all that matters…_

Carly pushed away the fries so she could talk to the two of them, "Well I'm happy for the both of you. I was a little worried things might get weird, but its good to know that you two are still as weird as you guys usually are. I've gotta go soon anyway. I was only here because Spencer was here to discuss with Principal Franklin about putting up a new sculpture in the school's lobby." She got up and walked out the door, while motioning at Shane to continue as he sighed at being interrupted a third time in the last 5 minutes.

As Carly left, Freddie looked over at Sam and teased, "You do realize that you'll have to spend the next 48-hours with me nonstop, right?"

Sam gave Freddie a flirting look, and bantered back, "I'm sure I'll find some way to live with it." Freddie leaned towards her, and Sam found the motion magnetic.

Shane looked back over towards everyone ready to tell the film contest's theme, but no one was looking at him. They were distracted by a particular couple in the back of the room. (Sadly, most of them had never experienced what Sam and Freddie were enjoying)

Sam and Freddie kissed for the entire world to see, and Shane not knowing what was going on, said the contest's theme.

"And this year's theme is 'Dreams Coming True.'"

Pandemonium shortly followed.

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A/N: Well, it's been fun. I'll now probably be spending eternity trying to make lightning strike twice with a following fic as equally popular. I've decided my next story, catch my holiday-themed Seddie fic "iDeleted Freddie." It will premiere probably on Christmas Eve and I will update with a chapter a day till New Years. This time the fic will be centered around Sam as opposed to Freddie in this one. I won't be updating any of my other fics as a result. This will hopefully also give me time to read some other people's fics since I really haven't had time. So if I reviewed your story earlier and I haven't since, well I'll make time now. See you next time.

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P.S: In case you didn't know, the term "jumping the shark" is a phrase that was coined after Fonzie, a character from the show _Happy Days_, while on jet skis jumped over a poorly penned-in shark in the Hollywood episode. It was ridiculous, didn't make any sense and alienated a lot of the core fan base. Hence the term is used by TV critics and fans to refer to a TV series when it deviates from its original formula and as such loses its original appeal. It has been referenced A LOT OF TIMES. Even in Kim Possible's fourth season, which was controversial since Kim and Ron were dating, Ron in the first episode calls Kim to tell her that he dreamed of her jumping over a shark. (Which earned a ROFL from me)

A modern day equivalent that is gaining popularity is "nuking the fridge" from the questionable scene in the lastest Indiana Jones movie, where the plot point was so ridiculous the average fan was left scratching their head saying "what?" instead of continuing to watch the movie.

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**Heh, Almost forgot... Please Review. Every comment helps.**


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